When All Was Well
by messedupdreamsandmelodies
Summary: A Next-Gen fic about Albus, Rose, and Scorpius's first year at Hogwarts.
1. Chapter 1

Albus's jet-black hair was a mess. He was nervous, and when he was nervous, he couldn't stop running his hands through it, which just made it stick up more. He was was downright terrified. Sure, his dad had told him they wouldn't care what house he was sorted into, but James would, and Grandpa Weasley would probably be a little disappointed if he was sorted into Slytherin, though he'd try to hide it.

"C'mon Albie!" His cousin Rose grabbed Albus's hand and tugged, pulling him after her through the train hallway, her bushy red hair bouncing behind her.

"I told you not to call me that!" Albus hissed as Rose stopped short to open a compartment door, and he tripped over her trunk, barely managing to keep himself from falling. The compartment held a portion of the Weasley cousins, all squished together, with many hanging out the window talking to family on the platform, and friends in other compartments. Bright red hair bonded most of them together, but other than that, features varied drastically. As they entered the small train carriage, Rose shrugged unapologetically and turned to talk to Lucy, leaving Albus to wedge himself between Louis and Olivia.

"Are you excited, Al?" Olivia, Albus' older cousin, asked conversationally. She had bright red hair that was chopped into a short, spikey 'do.

Albus nodded, but his heart had been thumping in his chest since the night before and refused to let up. He ran his hand through his hair again. Olivia must have noticed, and seen the mildly terrified look on his face because she nodded sympathetically. "Dad says I should try to convince you that you've got to face a troll or something to get sorted, but it's really not that bad."

He smiled a bit. "Yeah, your dad tried to convince me to send him a toilet seat. I think Mum actually wanted me to, but she says I'm not allowed."

Olivia laughed, as the compartment door opened again and more redheads poured in, talking loudly over each other. Rose and Albus shared a look, and pushed past their cousins back into the corridor.

"Let's find somewhere a bit more quiet." Rose decided, leading her cousin further down the train. "What class do you think we'll have first? I hope it's Transfiguration. I've heard Professor Abram is positively brilliant…" She continued to talk as she entered another compartment. "Mom said no magic outside of school- which is totally unfair, Dad and Uncle Harry say she did magic before she came to school- so I couldn't practice, but I've been reading nonstop and- Oh. Sorry. Do you mind if we join you?" A pale young boy with blonde hair was sitting by the window, paging through a copy of _Hogwarts: A History, Volume II by Hermione Granger._

The boy shook his head, barely glancing up from the large text.

"I'm Rose Weasley. And this is my cousin, Albus Potter." Rose stuck her hand out.

The boy's eyes shot up. "Um… I'm Scorpius." He said awkwardly, reaching over the book to take her hand, and nodding to Albus.

"Scorpius? Malfoy, right? Oh! I think our parents went to school together. Anyway, are you reading _Hogwarts: A History, Volume II?_ I've already read it, of course, and Mom is a very helpful resource, but I love going back and rereading my favorite parts." Rose chattered on, oblivious to Scorpius's uncomfortable silence.

"I've read it through as well," Scorpius offered shyly. "I was just rereading it to find out what it said about sorting."

Albus suddenly developed more of an interest for the conversation, as Rose stuck her head out the window, waving madly to her parents and brother who watched from the platform as the train pulled away. "Oh? What does it say?"

"Not much." Scorpius told him regretfully. "Just that the Sorting Hat originally belonged to Godric Gryffindor and that it is able to see into a person's mind and determine their defining traits. And that it is never wrong."

"My dad says that the hat takes your opinion into consideration." Albus shared.

"Your dad? Harry Potter?" Scorpius questioned.

"Yeah…?" Albus looked at Scorpius strangely, wondering why he would know his father by name, before realizing he must just be well informed about the Heads of Office at the Ministry of Magic.

"What house do you want to be in?" Rose asked Scorpius kindly.

His face darkened. "My father wants me to be in Slytherin."

"And you don't want to? My cousin Olivia is in Slytherin, and so is my friend Monica Longbottom, and they're quite nice." Rose said heatedly, jumping to defend the house. There was a slight negative stigma around being a Slytherin in the wizarding world, and Rose had seen her friends faces when talking about how the whole school would avoid them sometimes.

"My whole family has been in Slytherin. Anyone who wasn't was disowned." Scorpius said flatly.

"Woah." Albus breathed. He couldn't imagine being raised in a family like that.

Scorpius shrugged, staring out the window at the fast passing landscape determinedly.

"But- Ow!" Rose began heatedly, only cutting off when Albus jabbed her between the ribs. She rubbed her sides, glaring at him. He jerked his head to Scorpius's rigidly set mouth.

She frowned and bit her lip. "Well, do you play Quidditch?"

The blonde boy's face lit up. "Yeah, do you?"

The cousins glanced at each other, and laughed, nodding. The conversation flew from there, ("I got a Nimbus 3000. Took me a whole year of saving, AND helping Grandma Weasley de-grome the garden every month!" "I wish they'd allow 1st years on to house teams", "Uncle Harry was the only one to do it in like, over a century!"), until the food trolley rolled to a stop at their compartment.

"Food, dearies?" The old lady offered.

"Ah, yeah." The three kids fumbled around in their pockets. Rose and Albus pulled out homemade lunches and only gave the food trolley lady a few sickles for a chocolate frog each, while Scorpius handed over a few galleons for some Pumpkin Pastilles, a chocolate cauldron and a chocolate frog.

Albus quickly tore open his chocolate frog, biting it's legs so it couldn't hop away, and turned over the card that accompanied it. "Awww, I got Uncle Ron again." He said with disappointment.

"Every time Dad gets his card he keeps it." Rose giggled. "He's got a shoebox full now. Mum keeps getting on him to get rid of them, she says they clutter up the house." She pulled out her own card. "Oh look! I got Aunt Minnie!" She announced with delight. "Who'd you get, Scorpius?"

"Professor Longbottom," He mumbled through a mouthful of chocolate, holding it up for the other two to see.

"He looks so… regal!" Rose laughed. "You should see some of the pictures Mum has! He was a pudgy little lad, wasn't he? Well, at least he grew up well."

Scorpius and Albus smiled, and the three eleven year olds turned their attention to their lunches with Albus and Rose sharing funny Weasley family stories in between bites, and Albus teasing Rose for her insatiable appetite. (She stuck her tongue out at him.)

"The Hogwarts Express will be arriving at it's destination shortly. Please be sure you are dressed in proper school attire and leave all belongings on the train. They will be transported up to the castle separately." A voice sounded throughout the compartment, startling the talkative threesome. Albus's heart began to pound again, and his hand jumped to his hair as the voice repeated it's message a second time.

After Rose and Albus had changed into their school robes, (Scorpius already had his on) they sat in silence, glancing nervously at each other every few moments until the train slowed and pulled into the station. They filed out of the compartment and off the train quietly amid the loud chatter of older students.

"Firs' years, Firs' years, over here! Firs' years, this way!" Hagrid's voice boomed over the talkative children, and Albus sighed with relief, pushing his way to Hagrid's cheerful, smiling face, which poked out above the crowd, illuminated by the large lantern he held up above his head. He lead the group of nervous eleven year olds to the edge of a lake, where many small rowboats were lined up. "Right then, no more than four to a boat! Four to a boat!"

Albus, Scorpius and Rose shared a boat, along with a blonde, freckled girl named Amelie MacMillan. Rose looked over the side of the gently rocking boat with poorly disguised apprehension. "Don't worry, Dad said the giant squid is really quite nice." Albus whispered to her reassuringly, squeezing her hand.

"Yer all settled then?" Hagrid situated himself in a boat, his massive frame causing it to sink quietly deeper into the water, and looked around. "Alright!" The boats lurched forward in unison, and they were off. As the boats brushed under hanging ivy and rounded a bend, a gasp rippled through the students, and Albus caught his first glimpse of the castle.

"The books just don't do it justice!" Rose whispered, and Albus nodded in agreement with speechless wonder. Hogwarts was majestic, towering over the lake in an intimidating, yet welcoming way. Lights glowed from windows high up into the sky, and reflected off the lake, lighting up much of the sprawling grounds.

The first years talked excitedly with hushed voices, as if they didn't want to break the spell the castle cast. The boats reached the side of the lake below the regal building and jerked to a stop.

"Everyone out, careful there, don't fall in, whoops, there ya go." Hagrid herded them out of the boats, and led them, trudging up to the castle doors, where he paused and looked around. "Ready?" before turning back, and knocking three times, loudly.

The pause after he knocked felt like an eternity to Albus, before the doors swung open to reveal a handsome young man who smiled warmly at them, winking at Albus and Rose. "Alright then, Hagrid? Nobody eaten by the giant squid this year, I hope." He joked.

Hagrid chuckled and a few of the first years looked at each other anxiously. "Not this year, Professor, luckily."

"I'll take it from here, thank you Hagrid." Professor Longbottom nodded at the groundskeeper, who smiled encouragingly at the students before entering the castle and disappearing through great big double doors that Albus assumed led to the Great Hall his parents had told him about. "Alright you all, come in. Stand over there please, there you go, quickly now, you're letting all the warm air out. Right. I'm Professor Longbottom, Deputy Headmaster, Gryffindor Head of House, and Herbology Professor. I look forward to getting to know you this year, especially my future Gryffindors. But I want you all to know that even though I may not be your head of house, you can come to me at anytime. We do have high expectations for you, but we are not unreasonable. So long as you work hard, and follow our guidelines, you shall succeed here at Hogwarts.

"I should warn you that we do not accept rule breakers, and those who do choose to break the rules can have House points taken from them, or even receive detention. There are Four Houses at Hogwarts, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin, each house with their own strengths. Each house has four Prefects who have been assigned to show our new students the ropes, and help you throughout the year. There is also a HeadGirl and HeadBoy in each house who can help you should you need it. In a few moments, you will be sorted into your houses, where you will join your housemates for the Welcoming Feast. If you would all wait here, I will be back to collect you soon." With that, the professor turned and strode through the double doors to the Great Hall.

Whispers erupted throughout the group, and Albus turned to Scorpius and Rose who looked back at him his fear-stricken faces. "It's ok." He said quietly, pushing down his own insecurities. The minutes seemed to stretch on forever as he anticipated the return of his new professor, and the whole group seemed to be holding their breath when the doors finally swung open.

"This way please, line up in alphabetical order." Professor Longbottom instructed.

Scorpius, Rose and Albus exchanged helpless looks as they found their places in line apart from each other, and the professor led them through the large doors.


	2. Chapter 2: The Knot of the Notts

Chapter 2

Harry knew his daughter was enjoying the illusion of being an only child. Though Lily had sulked most of the way home over not being able to attend Hogwarts with her brothers, she found solace in her parents undivided attention. So far she had managed to convince Harry to attend her dolls tea party, and persuaded her mother to invite her cousin Hugo over for movie night and a sleepover that weekend, to celebrate the first week of Year Five.

Even with Lily's endless chatter (mostly revolving around her first day of school, which was the next day), Harry found he was grateful when he was called into the office on an "urgent matter". The house felt hollow without his sons. He knew the first few weeks were always the worst. They all felt the absence when James had first gone to Hogwarts two years before, but the gap had grown double its previous size this year. Harry filled with pride when he thought of how his boys had grown up, but it was still so damn hard to have them out of the house. Albus had been looking forward to this day since before even James had left, and- though he'd never admit it- he'd been so excited he'd slept in his school robes since they'd gotten them a week before. Harry knew he must accept the change, however begrudgingly.

The black haired man pushed these thoughts from his mind as he arrived at his office, stepping out of his personal fireplace with ease. He'd come a long way from a lost twelve year old, he chuckled to himself.

Harry walked into a room of busy cubicles. In a moment, one of his best Aurors was by his side. A tired looking middle age man, Dawkins had a knack for defusing tense situations in the field and a brilliant talent for deflecting curses. Dawkins had been heading the shift that day. "Talk to me." Harry demanded.

"It's another attack." Dawkins said soberly.

Harry cursed under his breath. "Who was attacked? Injuries?" He paused briefly before asking, "Fatalities?"

"No fatalities." His Auror assured him. "It was the Nott family. There's some minor injuries to most of them. But Harry… The attacker used a Crutatius."

Harry stopped short and stared at the man beside him for a moment before continuing. "Where is the family now?"

"St. Mungo's. Private room, I've got Cathrine drawing up a schedule for her and the other interns to take shifts guarding, but I doubt he'll come back. He accomplished what he meant to. Dylan and Paige are there now."

Harry nodded. "Good. I'll go there and interview them myself. Any other witnesses?"

"Just the house elves. I thought I'd send Kiera over there to interview them."

"Perfect. Ok. Be in touch." Harry turned off back into his office. He paused, lifting his wand and casting a Patronus. "Tell Ginny not to wait up for me tonight. Tell her there's been another attack and that I've gone to interview victims." The stag turned and galloped steadily out of the room. Harry sighed. He was in for a long night. He reached into a pot above his fireplace and threw a handful of Floo Powder into the fire, stepping in. "St. Mungo's Hospital!" He said clearly. The green fire swept him up and spun him through the network quickly, tossing him out at the hospital's lobby.

He nodded to the secretary sitting at the desk and headed to the elevator jabbing a number and waiting impatiently for the doors to close. He walked quickly to a private ward and scanned his wand, causing the doors to spring open and he strode through to where he saw two of his interns standing outside a door. "Paige, Dylan." He greeted.

They straightened when they saw him. Paige had long blonde hair pulled back into a high ponytail and Dylan had dark hair cut into a severe crewcut. Both interns were wearing official Auror robes and held their wands loosely in their hands. They nodded to him as they stepped aside to allow him into the room.

Harry opened the door quietly and stepped in cautiously. A man Harry's age lay unconscious in a hospital bed, surrounded by silent family. A dark haired woman held his hand, her other arm immobilized in a sling. Three young children sat quietly by the woman, sporting various bandages over small seeming wounds. They all looked up when Harry entered the room.

"Mrs. Nott." Harry greeted somberly. "I am so sorry."

She smiled tightly at him, but her eyes showed distrust deep within. "Mr. Potter." She acknowledged.

"I'd like to ask you and your family a few questions, if that would be alright." He knew a mother wouldn't want to leave her children right now, but it was necessary to interview them separately to obtain the most honest answer. He explained this to her in the most respectful way possible, trying to assure her that her family would be completely safe the entire time. Though it took some persuading, the shocked woman eventually relented, allowing Harry to escort her oldest child to a room nearby.

The boy was about Lily's age, with dark hair like his mother's and deep brown eyes. His head was bandaged, with a slight tint of red bleeding through the white gauze. He was quiet as he walked with Harry, who led them to a quiet room with plush chairs. Sitting down, he offered the boy a glass of water, which was declined. He shrugged and poured himself a glass, taking a sip before taking out a wand and muttering " _Recordium verbis_ " The tip of his wand glowed purple and he set it between himself and the child. "I'm Harry." He introduced himself. "I'm an Auror and I'm going to ask you a few questions to try and figure out who attacked your family, alright?"

The boy shrugged noncommittally, which Harry took as a good sign. "Ok. So what's your name?"

"Thomas Nott." The young man answered shortly.

"Alright, Thomas, can you tell me what happened?" Harry asked kindly.

"Mum was helping us get our school things together for school tomorrow, and Father was in the study, doing work. Someone knocked on the door, and Mum went to answer it because Antem was busy cleaning up Annie's room. I heard a deep voice says something, and then there was a flash of light and then Mum screamed and I heard Annie crying and I ran to see what happened and a big man with a hood over his head knocked me down against the wall and I hit my head, see, right there. And then Marie got jabbed with his wand and he blasted the door off of Father's study and said "This is for my family, you bastard." And his wand waved really meanly, and then Father twitching, kind of, and screaming, like he was being tortured, and then he was knocked out. And then the man looked around and then he disapparated." The words poured out of his mouth quickly, like he'd needed to get them all out there as soon as he could.

Harry nodded. This sounded like all other accounts of attacks he'd been given. A man with a hood that covered his face. "Alright, Thomas, is there anything else that might help us find the man?" Harry asked the boy.

Thomas shook his head. "I don't think so. I'm sorry."

Harry flicked his wand, ending the recording. "That is absolutely fine," He assured him, pulling a piece of thick parchment from his robes. "But I want you to think about it and if you think of anything, you just write it on this piece of paper- or have someone else write it- and it will come directly to me. That way if you remember anything, anything at all, I'll be able to know right away, so we can catch this man, alright?" He asked, holding out the piece of paper.

Thomas nodded, taking the paper and tucking it carefully into his jumper.

"Thanks, Thomas." Harry smiled down at the boy, who attempted to smile back. Together, they walked back to the room where the rest of the Nott family was waiting. Harry took both of the younger girls to interview in turn, but they had even less information than Thomas had given him.

Finally it was time to interview Mrs. Nott. She looked nervous to leave her family, so Harry offered to bring Paige in to keep them entertained. The intern walked in and sat down with the little girls, showing them her Aurors badge and letting the littlest one, Annie, pin it to her robes. The sight of her children watching the Auror, enthralled in the new person, seemed to help Mrs. Nott relax slightly, and she followed Harry to the room, accepting the water he offered her, but not taking a sip.

Harry set up the wand just as he had with the children, and Mrs. Nott looked at it warily. "Just so the Aurors who aren't here know what you said." Harry explained, noticing the look on her face. Mrs. Nott nodded, allowing him to continue. "Alright, what's your name?"

"Eleanor Nott."

"Can you tell me what happened?"

The woman gave a similar account to her son's, providing slightly more detail to the spells cast, which Harry made a mental note of, but she didn't have much more information that Harry didn't already know. When she'd finished her account, Harry asked, "Can you think of any information that might help us catch him? Did you notice any distinguishing features?"

Mrs. Nott thought for a moment. "Nothing much… Let's see." She said slowly. "It sounded like a male voice, and he walked with a slight limp!" She said triumphantly as she remembered.

Harry nodded. "Thank you." He paused. "Mrs. Nott, are there any people you think would be out to attack your family? Any enemies of your husband, perhaps?"

Mrs. Nott shot his a cold look, like she couldn't even believe the question was being asked. "Everyone." She said simply.

He nodded again, and handed her a piece of parchment much like the one he'd given her son, asking him to contact her the moment she thought of anything else, and walking her back to her husband's room, where she retook her vigil by his bedside. Harry motioned to Paige, who said goodbye to the little ones and followed him out of the door.

Harry ran a hand over his scar absentmindedly, and turned to his interns. "I want to know if anyone comes to this room. Write everything and anything you notice in the case journal." He instructed. "I have to go get the medical records of this and see the official diagnosis. And then I'm going back to the office. Someone will come replace you later."

Dylan and Paige nodded and settled back into their positions guarding the door.


End file.
